OK, folks. Get ready.
I’m going to ask a terrible question: You can only read two tropes for the rest of the year. Which two do you pick?
Yes. Only two.
Amanda: I thought I would agonize over this one, but nope. My two picks came to me immediately without much second guessing, WHICH IS A RARITY.
The first would be enemies to lovers. I love a sense of antagonism in my romances and I definitely feel like it adds to the sexual tension.
The other would be the Morality Chain. I cannot remember the name of the reader who introduced me to this term. She asked for it in an SBTB Instagram Rec Request and I remember having to Google it. Once I did, it was like everything made sense.
(Note to readers, if this was you who requested it, let me know because you have my eternal thanks.)
For those who are unfamiliar (like I was) with a morality chain, it’s when a character is only “good” or “moral” for the sake of their love interest. Yes, it’s fucked up. I love it.
CarrieS: This first one is easy – Family of Choice (also known as Found Family). I’m a huge sucker for this one, and I don’t tire of it because every found family can be found differently and interact in different ways, and the trope extends through every possible genre and medium including but not limited to romance.
The second one is harder! I’m going to go for Deadpan Snarker. It’s a trope that can be found anywhere and that never fails to thrill my heart. Of course if I could add a third it would be Science Hero or Science Heroine – and I’ve noticed that Science people are often masters of the Deadpan Snark and exist best within the support system of Family of Choice.
Sarah: This was my question. I wrote it. This idea sprang from my brain parts. And what happened? I spent sixty-fifteen hours on TVTropes reading alllll the pages. What have I done?!
I love Deadpan Snarkers, and I love Enemies to Lovers. But for my picks, I’ve got two that are so similar, I should probably pick a third.
I love stories with Savvy Guy, Energetic Girl pairings, as well as Strong Girl, Smart Guy.
A number of the movies I re-watch often with my family fit this trope pair. Judy and Nick from Zootopia and Hiccup and Astrid from the How to Train Your Dragon franchise operate a little in both areas, even though TVTropes places Judy and Nick in both Strong/Smart and Savvy/Energetic while Hiccup and Astrid are in Strong/Smart.
This rabbit hole also re-introduced me to a ship I’d long, long forgotten: Encyclopedia Brown and Sally Kimball. I shipped them before I knew what shipping was. And I wonder if they influenced Hiccup and Astrid.
Well, there went another fourteen hours of my free time.
I like these two tropes because they subvert gender expectations on both sides, but still emphasize the need for balance and complementary skills sets when people work together. They also, as TVTropes points out, can work for non-hetero pairings, too:
Many works featuring male x male or female x female romantic relationships will also follow the trope, with one partner being perky and optimistic while the other is savvy and smarter.
I also wonder if there’s a proper name for the plots that rest on one character leaving notes for another, which amount to tiny portions of intimacy that reveal their true selves. It’s like a twist on epistolary novels, and is the basis for some of my favorite stories in romance.
Elyse: This is the hardest question ever, Sarah!
Okay, after much pondering and a few muttered swear words, I think I need to with a Pining Hero. I love a hero who pines. The pinier the better. I think that’s because this guy tends to be in direct opposition from The Boner Led Hero who is objectively The Worst. The Pining Hero has loved the heroine for ages and hasn’t been like “why do I suddenly want to put my wang in her? I don’t understand my feels at all!” No, he’s so much better than that.
For my second I have to go with Friends to Lovers. I think part of this is that you get some level of intimacy already established between the hero and heroine. Plus the best relationships have an element of friendship to them as well.
Now, if I can get Friends to Lovers with a Pining Hero? That’s the best.
Ok, your turn! You can only read two tropes for the rest of 2019. Which two are yours?
Forced Proximity and Arranged Marriage. I could eat it up with a spoon.
@Allison @EJ:
Lol at Stanwyck trope. Stanwyck is also who I typically think of, but I remember Jean Arthur doing an admirable job of it in both Mr. Deeds Goes to Town and Mr. Smith Goes to Washington, playing in both a big city gal who kind of looks on our hero as a bumpkin. Mr. Smith was initially going to be a sequel to Mr. Deeds.
My immediate choice — Arranged Marriage! I love me a couple who marries for political or economic reasons then finds they actually love each other.
I had to think hard about the second trope because it’s one I don’t see often and don’t know how to describe — Female Dom/Male Sub with her being the driver in the relationship rather than just in the bedroom. I’m bored and annoyed by the idea of the Male Sub who is an alpha everywhere except between the sheets — most peoples’ personalities honestly don’t work that way.
My favorite trope by far is “I’m not worthy” when the hero (I don’t think I have ever read one where it is the heroine) thinks for whatever reason he is not good enough or right for the heroine. This could be class differences, his past, his personality, or even like A beauty and the Beast type thing.
My second favorite is Marriage of Convenience especially in historicals. Loved that trope when I was a teenager and I still love it today.
MOC has got to be one of them. I could probably just stay busy with rereading MOCs I already have for the rest of the year.
2nd choice would be cross class romances, but Cinderella stories are a strong contender.
I have another favorite trope, but I don’t think there are enough of them to keep me in reading material for a year: the heroine rescuing the hero. It can be a psychological rescue, but if it’s an actual physical rescue, like busting him out of prison, that’s the absolute best! So happy that this trope happened in “Polaris Rising” which I just finished reading.
A trope that I hate: in historicals when the hero is the heroine’s ward. Ugh. This usually goes along with a big disparity in age/experience between the H&h.
I’d definitely have to go with marriage of convenience (especially if that can be folded in with what I would consider its modern counterpart, fake relationship). Every time I read a marriage of convenience/fake relationship plot I get this huge gleeful smile and rub my hands together like a cartoon villain who says “eeeeeexcellent” because oh no! Everyone thinks they’re married/together but it’s all a pretense! However will this end?? Bonus points because this trope usually includes mutual pining.
I also always down for seemingly mismatched people who turn out to be perfect for each other, like in Think of England or An Unnatural Vice, which are both KJ Charles. (Come to think of it, I could probably survive on just reading KJ Charles for a year.) I don’t know what that trope is called, so I’m gonna call it April/Andy after Parks and Rec, because that’s another sterling example.
Enemies to lovers and second chance
Ack! Don’t make me choose only two!
Forced proximity, for sure, and even more so if it’s due to a snowstorm.
Then it’s a toss-up between road trip, fake relationship, and friends-to-lovers. But really, it’s easier for me to list the tropes I DON’T like.
I think Secret/Mistaken/Hidden Identity is probably my favorite trope. It’s no surprise since The Scarlet Pimpernel is one of my favorite novels to reread. My other favorite trope would have to be Marriage of Convenience–but only in historicals.
Tough one, but I would go with competence pr0n for sure as for the first one. Give me smart, snarky pairing where the hero and heroin excell at what they do and I’m sold. Big time. I actually skimmed through the list of my favourite romance novels and this one stands out 10/8 fit into this trope.
For the second one I would say where the main characters become eah other’s anchors in life – helping each other spread their wings, grounding them and becoming the stable ground they need. They don’t suppress or try to change the other but provide the anchor they need for personal growth, becoming equal partners in life.
My catnip: “Prim Sarcastic ‘Ice Prince’ is Actually Sexually-Insatiable With the Right Person.”
Otherwise, Beauty and the Beast (particularly love the versions where ‘Beauty’ is a librarian, and where ‘Beast’ is ugly/vulnerable/disabled). Would love a genderflipped or queered-gender version.
My hate-tropes: 1) Misunderstanding without Good Reason
2) Babies/Toddlers (prefer kittens)
AHHHH!!!! So hard, but friends to lovers for sure, that is my all time favorite and then maybe forbidden romance. I love a good age gap romance, but I feel like I can be sneaky and include that in forbidden romance!
Weirdly,a Secret Baby will always catch my eye though some are done better than others. I also like Smart Girl/Smart Guy/Friends to Lovers (or Rivals to Lovers). I really want Smart Girls who are respected and loved by the (equally smart) hero for their competence. Because I am a Smart Girl and that is my dream.
Secret baby (please no judgement) and older brother’s best friend.
@wub your opening trope sounds amazing and I am HERE FOR IT. But “Prim Sarcastic ‘Ice Prince’ is Actually Sexually-Insatiable With the Right Person” seems specific enough that you might have certain books in mind….recommendations please?!!
One of my tropes would definitely be competence porn / proper adulting porn (eg the start of Marrying Winterborne by Lisa Kleypas. An honest awakward conversation! About real awkward issues!).
As for the other….maybe a pining hero? But with actual Reasons why he hasn’t said anything before now.
Forced Proximity and marriage of convenience are my two favorite plot tropes. As far as characters, Bookworm Badasses are my favorites. What’s the trope called where a smart woman doing something unusual for her time and/or gender is supported by a reformed rake who thinks she’s absolutely amazing? (E.g., The Suffragette Scandal, Love in the Afternoon, most Courtney Milan… I’m always looking for recommendations!)
I was going to go with enemies to lovers, but I really really love a villain as hero. Hoyt’s Valentine Napier, Andrews’ Hugh D’Ambray, Kleypas’ Viscount St. Vincent, and Layton’s Duke of Torquay are all favorites. I like them to stay bad-assed too except for their treatment of the heroine, and I don’t like the heroine to “reform” them intentionally because the assumption that one can reform someone else with the purity of one’s lurve borders on TSTL territory. I’d feel the same about a villain as heroine, but I don’t think I’ve ever read one. That would be excellent though.
My other favorite trope is the Road Trip. Put a disparate bunch of characters in some sort of moving vehicle, throw in some romance and the hacky sacks of outrageous fortune, and I am a most happy camper. Harrison’s White Demon comes immediately to mind. Ruthie Knox has a couple that would qualify, and of course, there is the incomparable Around the World in 80 Days. Also, any space opera ever.
I really love this thread. Will you or have you done one around most loathed tropes?
Oh God, I didn’t have the words for what Morality Chain was but it is ABSOlUTELY MY THING.
@bes
Alas, my “Prim Sarcastic ‘Ice Prince’…” trope is pretty much me and a few friends, and I’ve published m/m fanfic until now. I’m working on what is intended to be an actual novel (m/m Regency romance). It does contain the line of thought “Bet he goes like a bloody racehorse with the right rider!” (when the second protagonist finally starts to think of the main protagonist as an interesting sexual prospect rather than a nuisance who lives but to annoy him…)
@wub – oh well. Maybe someone else will have ideas. Your work in progress sounds like something to look forward to though.
You’ve also made me think of the Captive Prince trilogy by CS Pacat (yay fellow Australian!). But be warned you have to slog through a very difficult first book to get to the squee parts.
what Janine said in comment no 10!
Well-written dark heroes (Anne Stuart comes to mind), along with Competence Porn. It was one of the reasons I really liked early seasons of The Blacklist.
Forced Proximity also, I think.
Hi Amanda! It was me who brought up morality chain. So happy it was helpful. I am OBSESSED with this trope. 🙂
Hi Amanda! It was me who brought up morality chain on the requests. So happy it was helpful. I am OBSESSED with this trope. 🙂
@Nicole C: I am forever grateful that I finally have a term for all the things I love.
@Amanda I was so excited to see you mention it that I also sent you an instagram message about it lol. Don’t mind me. I’m just thrilled to find someone else loves what I love.
My subconscious has been struggling with this for DAYS. I love a marriage of convenience, especially mail order spouses. Otherwise, I’m much more interested in character diversity. But if I had to pick, maybe a pining hero…or an anguished declaration of love?